A Few Possibilities
by anxiousgeek
Summary: Sam/Joe Faxon. Five ways that Carter and Ambassador Joe wind up together in the end.


Five ways that Carter and Ambassador Joe wind up together in the end. 

_1.He jumped._

He shouted to Sam to go, just go, and when Borren lunged at him again, he grabbed the Aschen and pushed him away, landing a right hook that probably hurt him more, but felled Borren at least. When he looked back over the balcony Sam was falling into the gate. They made eye contact for a brief moment then he was climbing over the railing and jumping after her.

Joe Faxon was pretty much what what Jack O'Neill thought of him at times, shiny shoes and leather briefcases. He was not a man who jumped recklessly into pools of silvery blue shimmering event horizons.

He almost landed on Sam and that was the last thing he remembered before waking up in the SGC infirmary, with her smiling at him, arm strapped into place with a sling.

"Hey, are you okay?" he croaked out. She laughed at that, helping him drink some water through a straw.

"Am I okay?!" she asked, eyes wide, smiling.

"Yeah," he smiled back, closing his eyes to the pain that shot though his head from temple to temple.

"I'm fine." 

"Good," he struggled to sit up, and with her good arm, she was strong enough to push him down. Harder than perhaps she intended by the look on her face when he groaned.

"Sorry, I just, you shouldn't be moving just yet."

"I'm fine."

"You're not...Joe," she said, hesitating with his name for a heartbeat, "you've been unconscious for three days."

"Damn."

"What?"

"We missed the Wednesday night special at Rigaro's," he smiled again, "the restaurant I wanted to take you to," he explained.

"Another time," she said, "until then it's commissary take out for you."

"You'll be around though?" he asked, feeling pathetic by the hope in his voice. Sam lifted up her bad arm, wincing slightly.

"I'm Earth bound for a bit."

"Commissary take out sounds great."

_Not all the anti-ageing vaccines caused sterility._

It was hard to run when you were five months pregnant. She should've learnt that the first time around but that was three years ago, she could forgive herself for forgetting. Just.

But not for being late. Joe stood when he saw her.

"Hon, I am so sorry," she said, she kissed him on the cheek, the bent over to the kiss the toddler sitting in the high-chair next to her on the head, before sitting in the chair opposite.

"It's alright." 

"No, if you were this late I'd..." 

"Hon it's fine, it's a beautiful say to wait, isn't it Sarah?" The toddler nodded, shoving another piece of bread into her mouth.

"Have you eaten?"

"We had to, she was getting hungry and I have to be off-world by thirteen thirty."

"I'm so sorry," she repeated.

"I know you're busy, but maybe you should be slowing down a little." 

"I know, and I will soon, we're so close to finishing the project." 

"Okay, but we need to look after the little man."

"You still think it's going to be a boy?"

"I do," he grinned, "Sarah does too."

"Uh-huh," the little girl said around the bread.

"Ganging up on me I see."

"We could ask the Aschen to tell us?"

"No, I want it to be a surprise this time." He smiled, leaning over to kiss her.

"Walk me to the terminal?" 

They walked the short distance from the restaurant to a transport stone, Joe carrying Sarah, the blonde girl holding a pink bear in one hand, some bread in another. They stepped onto it, Joe placing a hand on Sam's belly. She smiled at it and they disappeared, reappearing in the gate terminal.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, as they stepped off the stone. Sarah was dropped to the floor, immediately grabbing hold of Sam's leg.

"Ahh well, I have to visit that new embassy on the southern continent, then I have to tour the nine planets..." he said, smiling.

"You're kidding.." Sam said, her hand stroking her daughters hair.

"Of course I'm kidding. You don't think I'd miss your Anniversary ceremony tomorrow?" He smiled at her and she blushed.

"It's no big deal, I just..."

"Oh it's no a big deal...If it wasn't for you, we'd have never even met the Aschen," he told her. "I'll be back tonight okay."

"Bye daddy." He bent down and kissed the little girl, who beamed back up at him.

"Bye," Sam said, kissing him, then letting him go down the escalator to the open Stargate.

_He was brought in as ambassador and negotiator after the talks with the Aschen went sour._

It wasn't that Daniel wasn't a bad negotiator, or a bad diplomat, but with Jack's mistrust, Daniel trusting the him, and Sam and Teal'c backing them up, things had gone south quickly, and the true intentions of the Aschen had been found out. Sam had her arm strapped in a sling for six weeks. Jack had been in a coma. Daniel had lucked out. Jack had pushed him down the rope first, and he'd only fallen a few feet, and had twisted an ankle.

So it was decided, by the President, that they needed someone full time for diplomatic situations and negotiating trade agreements,

At least that's what General Hammond was telling them. No one had sat down yet, preferring to stand around the briefing table. They were waiting to brief for their mission, waiting for the order to sit. Jack was about to say something when they all heard the metal clank of someone walking up the spiral staircase. Joe smiled at them, wearing a perfect suit, shiny leather shoes and holding an equally shiny briefcase to match.

"This is Joe Faxon," Hammond said, "he will be our official representation for all trade negotiations from now on." They looked at each other, then to Jack, waiting for his approval or his scorn. "This is SG-1."

"Of course," he said smiling wide and approaching them to shake hands.

"Are you sure about this Sir?" Jack asked, hands in his pockets. Joe walked up to Sam, shaking her hand and lingering for a moment. She smiled back at him, a slight blush creeping up. That she couldn't avoid and had always hated.

"Sounds like a good idea to me Colonel," Jonas said, shifting his book to his other hand, waiting to shake Joe's hand.

"Me too...Colonel," Sam said, looking over at him, still holding onto the man's hand until she realised everyone was looking at her, "Sir," she added, blushing. Joe simply smiled, and shook Jonas' hand, then Teal'cs', Jack still keeping his in his pockets.

"Anyway," Hammond said, "Mr Faxon will be accompanying you for the talks on PC9-428."

"Something nice an easy to break you in huh?" Jack said.

"I hope so Colonel," Joe said.

"Let's get started people." They moved around the table, taking seats, and Joe sat next Sam, leaning in close.

"Maybe before we leave, you'll show me the commissary," he said, smiling, "I've had no chance to eat." She looked around the table, relieved to find everyone opening their folders and not looking at them.

"I'd love to," she said, smiling back.

_Joe was the mayors assistant in Teal'cs' imagined world during The Changling._

Sam leans back in her chair and listens to the conversation around her, of course they were talking about the transplant, what else would they even be thinking about right now. With their friend about to go in for major surgery, there was little else.

"I know that. Look, we've gotten second and third opinions and second and third opinions on those opinions and they all come back the same. They're not going to find a better match than I am. Either I do this or Bray dies. And frankly, after all Bray's done for me, I owe him." T said, leaning forward, defensive now.

"All we're saying is, if there was another option?" she tried.

"It's already arranged and booked. I go in day after tomorrow." The conversation ended with that, and the look on the man's face dared them to try again, try and debate the matter more with them.

"So, Carter, how was your date with, the mayor's assistant last night," Jack said, turning away from T and coughing. "_Whatshisname_? Jay."

"Joe," she corrected, smiling, "it was great thanks."

"Great huh?" Jack grinned at her, making her blush. Jonas returned, ringing a bell, and smiling.

"We're having lunch again today," she said once the ringing had stopped.

"Wow, third date, first base right?" T said, grinning. 

"Gentlemen and Lady. Breakfast is served," Jonas cried.

"That's Captain to you Probie and it better be good,"

"Of course, so much so, you may not want eat food when you have lunch with Mr Faxon today."

"Funny, Probie," she said, her tone warning, eyes lowered. Jonas smiled at her, then looked up to the ceiling at the alarms that were sounding through the fire station.

"Guess you will need that lunch," Jack said, patting her on the back as they stood, chairs pushed out with force and falling backwards.

"Everything okay Sam?" Despite the warm sun, Joe was wearing his suit, but had shed his jacket and was holding it over his arm. She looked at him and smiled, she was wearing a skirt, that was flowing around with the slight breeze.

"Yeah, fine," she said, "sorry," my friend T, is in hospital."

"For surgery, I thought that was tomorrow."

"Day after, or it was supposed to be, we had a call today, a car crash on the Stevenson Bridge,"

"I heard about that."

"T was injured, he's okay, but...I don't know, he's more worried about this transplant than he's letting on."

"Completely understandable," Joe said, he shifted his jacket to his other arm, then linked theirs together, pulling her against his body and smiling, "but I am sure that the hospital will be thinking of that."

"He put himself in danger."

"A clear sign he doesn't want to go through with it maybe."

"Maybe, on some level, I know he does, Bray is very important to him." 

"He'll be okay," she smiled, he was probably right, and as they came to the end of the park, she sighed.

"I'll probably go see him this afternoon," she said, turning around to face him. Their cars were a few feet away.

"Good idea," he smiled and kissed her on the cheek. She didn't pull away and moved to kiss him on the lips, ignoring the memory of Jonas' words at breakfast. 

"I'll see you later," he sounded more hopeful than he needed to, considering she'd just kissed him, their bodies pressed together.

"Sure," she smiled, shy. 

"Call me if you need to talk," he said, walking to her car. She nodded and kissed him on the cheek one last time before getting in her car and driving away, seeing him watching her leave in her mirror.

_They met in Washington._

She wasn't thinking about where she was going, she was thinking about how uncomfortable she felt in her full dress blues. Still. Twenty years in the Air Force and it still threw her a little off kilter. Just a little, but enough so that as she walked up the steps towards General O'Neill's office she tripped and bumped into a handsome man in a suit and a smile, sending his briefcase tumbling down the steps with a 'bump, bump, bump'. 

"I'm so sorry," she said, chasing after it.

"It's fine, really. I only carry it for show," he said, smiling, joining her at the bottom of the staircase. She handed it to him and smiled, "Joe Faxon, I'm with the President's office."

"Lt. Colonel Carter." She shook his hand.

"Of course," he said, surprising her, "Sam Carter." He smiled, dropping her hand after a lingering moment, "General O'Neill's two 'o' clock."

"I'm glad he still thinks of me so highly." 

"Oh that wasn't all he said."

"Was it good?" she asked, half serious.

"I'm not sure, how annoying is Dr. Jackson?" She laughed at that.

"To the General, very. To the rest of us, not so much," she said, "I should get up there."

"Dinner? Tonight?"

"Uhm," she hesitated, she wasn't staying in the city tonight, she was on the last hop back, but... "sure, that would be great," but she could get a hotel room and a dress.

"Are you coming in?" She wanted to, and his question sounded so innocent when he smiled like that, looking so straight laced. Sam had come to know a little different though in the past few weeks. She suspected that there was a lot to know about Joe that would surprise her. Delight her.

"I'd love to." He smiled and ushered her into his apartment, hand on her back, and she kissed him the moment the door was shut. 

Of course she wanted to come in. Why else would she had driven him home, instead of the other way around. Instead of having him take her back to her hotel.

There was a possibility that he had known all along though, she realised, by the way he pushed her back against his apartment door without pausing to think, or ask, if this was too much, too fast unlike he had done a few weeks before. Like he had done when they'd kissed outside a different restaurant, his hand drifting under her blouse and making her feel sixteen again.

It was a romance, she thought, letting him strip her slowly in his hallway. Without questions or recriminations and everything she wanted.


End file.
